Am I the only English speaker who still knows how to spell the word “lose?â€Â Some samples from the Internet:
McCain Loosing His Mind! — McCain VS Fact
Israeli Army Chief Not Loosing Sleep Over Iraq Fears — FOXNews.com
Housing, which had set sales records for both new and existing homes for five consecutive years, has been rapidly loosing altitude this year, as consumers were battered by rising mortgage rates, soaring energy prices and a slowing economy. — Associated Press / Breitbart.com
2 replies on “Loosing the Language”
I always thought “loose” and “lose” was just two different ways to spell a word. After reading this, and a bit of googling, I realize it’s actually two different words with very different meanings. Thank you. I won’t be making that mistake again. My excuse is that English isn’t my native tongue.
@Bent,
And no one judges you for that! I cannot imagine having to learn English as a second language with its hodgepodge of rules with more exceptional cases than cases that actually follow the rules. (At least, it feels that way.)
And to be fair, native English speakers could be forgiven for the mistake. We have a word “choose” that rhymes with “lose.” That’s what’s going through English speakers’ heads when they type “loose” instead of “lose,” especially if they’re in a hurry. I mean, the “oo” in “choose” is the standard way of expressing that sound, rather than the single “o” in “lose.” It’s entirely understandable why people make the mistake.
My main complaint is with journalism/news websites and newspapers, whose business it is to know better.